Correa re-elected triumphantly at the head of Ecuador

Rafael Correa was reelected at the head of the Ecuador yesterday, a landslide victory for the president taking out face his competitor Guilermo Lasso. A major challenge for the democracy.

The Ecuadorians again offered a plebiscite yesterday to president Rafael Correa, one of the leaders of the American left, triumphantly reelected at the head of this country of 15 million inhabitants. Charismatic and popular leader, this 49-year-old economist, who impulsed a socialist bend since its coming to power in 2007, promised to strengthen his “revolution” during the last mandate of four years which authorizes him the law. ” Thank you for this trust. We shall never disappoint you, this victory is yours “, said Rafael Correa, since the balcony of the presidential palace of Quito, in front of thousands of partisans in jubilation. As we can see on the video below :

This revolution, nobody stops it. We are making the history “, has still declared the Head of State, the winner from the first ballot with more than 56 % of the votes, after the perusal of about 40 % of bulletins. Mr . Correa outstripsclearly his main competitor, the conservative banker Guillermo Lasso, who recognized his defeat. The outgoing president ” obtained the re-election and it deserves our respect “, admitted Mr. Lasso, close to tears, in front of his supporters, gathered in the portof Guayaquil (southwest).

A legitimized president

After the announcement of the results, streets were invaded by a forest of green flags, the color of the presidential party Alianza Pais. ” Rafael, we love you “, shouted the crowd, in the middle of firecrackers and concerts of horns. Favorite for weeks, the president aims at an absolute majority to the Parliament, where his party has only 42 % of seats, after the general elections of Sunday, in the course of which the Ecuadorians also chose their representatives. Correa’s challenge is from now to ” strengthen the democracy “.

About 30 % of the Ecuadorians still live under the poverty line, according to the last reportof the World Bank in 2011, a rate which the government boasts of having reduced to 16 %. Mister . Correa’s inflexible style, which imposed a moratorium on the foreign debt and forces the oil multinationals to pay more dividends to the State, allowed himto obtain a record longevity in the country.

In spite of the triumph announced by Mr. Correa, the hatred of a part of the population against him remains powerful. The business circles also blame himfor making the foreign investors run away. Even if he shows a more pragmatic attitude than his Venezuelan ally Hugo Chavez, Mr. Correa defied recently Washington by grantingthe asylum to the Australian founder of the website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange. After his re-election, he called to find a ” fast solution ” for the cyberactivist, who took refuge in his embassy in London, considering that his fate was ” in the hands of Europe “.